Ipswich: Hospital scores below average for food standards. What do you think of hospital food?

Ipswich Hospital has scored beneath the national average on a range of non-clinical standards, with particular shortcomings in its quality of food served to patients.

The hospital’s scores for privacy, cleanliness and appearance were only marginally below the national average according to the Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) statistics.

However, the report, produced by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, found the hospital’s for food and hydration were considerably below the national average, at 78% compared with 88%.

A hospital spokesman said: “It’s very pleasing to see that we’ve achieved more than 95% in cleanliness but we obviously have more work to do in improving the satisfaction that patients feel with the food.”

“The other areas also demonstrate there’s more we can do to make sure we provide the best possible service.”

The PLACE assessments were produced with input from patients, governors and other representatives of the public to inform patient choice. Standards nationally had have increased year on year in the comparable categories.

Colchester Hospital was the highest scoring in Suffolk and Essex. West Suffolk Hospital scored slightly higher than the national average in cleanliness, food and appearance, though it was found to have slightly below average standards for privacy.

Have you had a particularly bad experience while you have been in hospital? Email newsroom@archant.co.uk